Say: Shall I inform you of something better than that? For those who keep from evil, with their Lord, are Gardens underneath which rivers flow wherein they will abide, and pure companions, and contentment from Allah. Allah is Seer of His bondmen (slaves), (15

Allah is The One whose insight sees all things clearly, both the apparent and the hidden.

The One who sees and understands all that has been, and all that will be.

The One who perceives every detail.

The One who understands all things, both outer and inner.

This Attribute means that Allaah Sees and Is aware of everything that happens, no matter how small or minute it is, even if it is hidden.

The One who has given to mankind the outer eye of the body, and the inner eye of the heart.

We brainstormed things that Allah sees, that others cannot
S gave an example of eating during Ramadhan, hiding from us. (hmmm we seem to be using this example too much)

H gave example of hiding sweets under the blanket (and he sniggered at S)

I gave examples of doing good deeds. I think it is important to highlight about good deeds more than bad deeds sometimes. I am trying to make them more aware that Allah loves good deeds rather than punishing. I want them to know that even the littlest good deed does not pass the eyes of Allah.

Linking back to lesson we learnt earlier Allahu A’lim, Allah knows when we even have good intentions in our heart and even the littlest intention will be rewarded and extra rewards will be given when we actually implement the good deed.

I also want them to know that knowing that Allah is Al Baseer, we do not have to prove it to anyone else that we have done something good. Knowing that Allahu Alim and Allah AlBaseer should be a comfort to us that he knows and He sees and it will be recorded.

Allah also sees our future and know what we do not know.

Knowing this meaning, makes a person fear Allah and be conscious of Him in private and public and in all affairs, and become shameful to be seen by Allah committing sins.

According to the fatwa HERE The Name Al-Baseer is mentioned 62 times in the Quran. Allaah Knows best.

S was asked to write down the pillars of faith (she learnt it last year).

The way I explain to her about pillars of faith is, what you need to believe. Iman is believing. You must believe all of the six pillars. Not any time in your life that you can have doubts. These are the foundation of being a mukminin and sets a Muslim apart from the kuffar.

1. Believing in Allah.

Believe that Allah is our lord. Our creator. And that Allah is one. the only worthy of worship.

2. Belief in Allah’s book

We believe in the AlQuran. Al Quran is Allah’s words. It is sent down through revelation via the Angel Gabriel to Muhammad (s.a.w.). Allah has guaranteed that Al Quran will be preserved until the end of time.

We also believe that there are other kitabs sent down to the prophet before Muhammad s.a.w

they are

Injeel to Prophet isa a.s.

Torat to Prophet Musa a.s.

Zabur (psalm) to Prophet Daud a.s

and the Scrolls of Ibrahim to Prophet Ibrahim a.s.

3. We must believe in all Allah’s messengers

All Allah’s messengers carry the same message that is La Illahha Illallah. We love all messengers and we have the highest respect for them. Not believing in one of the messengers mean that we don’t believe in the third pillar of faith.

We believe that Muhammad is last messenger and there is no other messenger after that.

4. believe in angels

We believe that noble angels is Allah’s creation who carry duites as prescribed by Allah.

5. Believing in the end of the world. Qiyamah!

We believe that one day the world will be destroyed and we will also rise back to life. We believe that there will be a judgment day then where we will be judged. If you have been good you will go to heaven and bad people go to hell. Believing that there will be judgment day should keep our behaviours in check and have fear for Allah.

H : h is now reading up to Juz 12. He is reciting AlQuran with an Indonesian Ustaz at one of the mosques nearby. He has also memorised up to AlBayina. However I am now making him repeat all the ayahs that he has memorised to check on his tajweed. The Ustadz is also doing the same. Insya Allah.

B : She is now reading the first page of Iqra 6. However, I have also started making her recite the Juzzu Amma especially on the soorahs that she has memorised. This is in the hope that as soon as she finishes her Iqra 6, she can fluently recite the alquran. She has also memorised Al Fatihah up to Almasad. We skipped An Nasr and go straight to Al Kafirun, Al Kawthar (because it is short and will boost her confidence) and Al Qadar (because we did the Ramadhan activity). She has also memorised ayatul Kursi, Alhamdullilah. And we have been making it a routine of reciting the 3 Quls and ayatul Kursi before going to sleep. This helped her memorisation better.

Z : He is now staring on Iqra 1 and is on the letter ‘ro’. He is sometimes caught memorising a bit of Alfatihah, a bit of Annas, abit of alikhlas and a bit of ayatul kursi. Bless him.

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This week we discusses ayatul Kursi.

AYATUL KURSI IS THE GREATEST AYAH IN THE BOOK OF ALLAH

While Al Ikhlas is the greatest soorah.

Taken from Tafsir Ibn Kathir

This is Ayat Al-Kursi and tremendous virtues have been associated with it, for the authentic Hadith describes it as `the greatest Ayah in the Book of Allah.’

Imam Ahmad recorded that `Ubayy bin Ka`b said that the Prophet asked him about the greatest Ayah in the Book of Allah, and `Ubayy answered, “Allah and His Messenger know better.” When the Prophet repeated his question several times, `Ubayy said, “Ayat Al-Kursi.” The Prophet commented,

(Congratulations for having knowledge, O Abu Al-Mundhir! By He in Whose Hand is my soul! This Ayah has a tongue and two lips with which she praises the King (Allah) next to the leg of the Throne.)

REPELLING SHAYTAN BY RECITING AYATUL KURSI

Al-Bukhari recorded a hadith from Abu Hurayrah, in the chapters on the virtues of the Qur’an and the description of Shaytan. In this narration, Abu Hurayrah said,

“Allah’s Messenger assigned me to keep watch over the Sadaqah (charity) of Ramadan. A person snuck in and started taking handfuls of foodstuff. I caught him and said, `By Allah, I will take you to Allah’s Messenger.’ He said, `Release me, for I am meek and have many dependents and am in great need.’ I released him, and in the morning Allah’s Messenger asked me, `What did your prisoner do yesterday, O Abu Hurayrah’ I said, `O Allah’s Messenger! He complained of being needy and of having many dependents, so I pitied him and let him go.’ Allah’s Messenger said, `Indeed, he told you a lie and will be coming again.’ I believed that he would show up again, for Allah’s Messenger had told me that he would return. So, I watched for him. When he (showed up and) started stealing handfuls of foodstuff, I caught hold of him again and said, `I will definitely take you to Allah’s Messenger.’ He said, `Leave me, for I am very needy and have many dependents. I promise I will not come back again.’ I pitied him and let him go. In the morning Allah’s Messenger asked me, `What did your prisoner do last night, O Abu Hurayrah!’ I replied, `O Allah’s Messenger! He complained of his great need and of too many dependents, so I took pity on him and set him free.’ Allah’s Messenger said, `Verily, he told you a lie; he will return.’ I waited for him attentively for the third time, and when he (came and) started stealing handfuls of the foodstuff, I caught hold of him and said, `I will surely take you to Allah’s Messenger as it is the third time you promised not to return, yet you returned.’ He said, `Let me teach you some words which Allah will give you benefit from.’ I asked, `What are they’ He replied, `Whenever you go to bed, recite Ayat Al-Kursi- Allahu la ilaha illa Huwal-Hayyul-Qayyum, till you finish the whole verse. (If you do so), Allah will appoint a guard for you who will stay with you, and no Shaytan will come near you until morning.’ So, I released him. In the morning, Allah’s Messenger asked, `What did your prisoner do yesterday’ I replied, `O Allah’s Messenger! He claimed that he would teach me some words by which Allah will grant me some benefit, so I let him go.’ Allah’s Messenger asked, `What are they’ I replied, `He said to me: Whenever you go to bed, recite Ayat Al-Kursi from the beginning to the end, Allahu la ilaha illa Huwal-Hayyul-Qayyum. He further said to me: (If you do so), Allah will appoint a guard for you who will stay with you, and no Shaytan will come near you until morning.’ (One of the narrators) then commented that they (the Companions) were very keen to do good deeds. The Prophet said, `He spoke the truth, although he is a liar. Do you know whom you were talking to, these three nights, O Abu Hurayrah’ Abu Hurayrah said, `No.’ He said, `It was Shaytan.”’

Then I proceeded by describing the general meaning of the ayah.

In the name of Allah the Most Merciful, and Compassionate Allah

There is no god but He,
The Living, the Everlasting,
Slumber seizes Him not, neither sleep,
To Him belongs all that is in the heavens and the earth.
Who is there that can intercede with His, except by His leave?
He knows what lies before them and what is after them,
And they comprehend not anything of His Knowledge save as He wills.
His throne comprises the heavens and the earth,
The preserving of them fatigues Him not,
And He is the All-High, All-Glorious.

The reason why Ayat al-Kursi is the most excellent verse, is that this verse mentions the names of Allah Most High more than any other verse (i.e. this verse contains the most remembrance (dhikr) of Allah Most High).

اللَّهُ لاَ إِلَـهَ إِلاَّ هُوَ

Allah! None has the right to be worshipped but He

الْحَىُّ الْقَيُّومُ

(Al-Hayyul-Qayyum) testifies that Allah is the Ever Living, Who never dies, Who sustains everyone and everything. All creation stands in need of Allah and totally relies on Him, while He is the Most Rich, Who stands in need of nothing created.

لاَ تَأْخُذُهُ سِنَةٌ وَلاَ نَوْمٌ

Neither slumber nor sleep overtakes Him

means, no shortcoming, unawareness or ignorance ever touches Allah. Rather, He is aware of, and controls what every soul earns, has perfect watch over everything, nothing escapes His knowledge, and no secret matter is secret to Him. Among His perfect attributes, is the fact that He is never effected by slumber or sleep.

This is important for Muslims to remember that Allah never tires..for in the bible it says that God created everything in 6 days and rests on the seventh. While Allah says in Quran, that no slumber or sleep overtakes Allah.

لَّهُ مَا فِي السَّمَـوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الاٌّرْضِ﴾

To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth

indicates that everyone is a servant for Allah, a part of His kingdom and under His power and authority.

مَن ذَا الَّذِى يَشْفَعُ عِندَهُ إِلاَّ بِإِذْنِهِ

Who is he that can intercede with Him except with His permission

يَعْلَمُ مَا بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَمَا خَلْفَهُمْ﴾

He knows what happens to them (His creatures) in this world, and what will happen to them in the Hereafter

this refers to His perfect knowledge of all creation; its past, present and future.

وَلاَ يُحِيطُونَ بِشَيْءٍ مِّنْ عِلْمِهِ إِلاَّ بِمَا شَآءَ﴾

And they will never compass anything of His Knowledge except that which He wills

asserts the fact that no one attains any part of Allah’s knowledge except what Allah conveys and allows. This part of the Ayah indicates that no one ever acquires knowledge of Allah and in His Attributes, except what He conveys to them.

وَسِعَ كُرْسِيُّهُ السَّمَـوَاتِ وَالاٌّرْضَ

His Kursi extends over the heavens and the earth.

وَلاَ يَؤُودُهُ حِفْظُهُمَا﴾

And He feels no fatigue in guarding and preserving them

meaning, it does not burden or cause Him fatigue to protect the heavens and earth and all that is in between them. Rather, this is an easy matter for Him. Further, Allah sustains everything, has perfect watch over everything, nothing ever escapes His knowledge and no matter is ever a secret to Him. All matters are insignificant, modest and humble before Him. He is the Most Rich, worthy of all praise. He does what He wills, and no one can ask Him about what He does, while they will be asked. He has supreme power over all things and perfect alertness concerning everything. He is the Most High, the Greatest, there is no deity worthy of worship except Him, and no Lord other than Him.

وَهُوَ الْعَلِىُّ الْعَظِيمُ﴾

And He is the Most High, the Most Great

Activities.

I printed Ayatul Kursi and cut it as according to each waqaf. B then arranged it accordingly leaving space between one waqaf and another.

H task was to put the respective translation which I have printed and cut accordingly.

Prior to this, I will highlight some arabic words in the ayah.

اللَّهُ لاَ إِلَـهَ إِلاَّ هُوَ

الْحَىُّ

الْقَيُّومُ

لاَ

نَوْمٌ

هُ مَا

في

السَّمَـوَاتِ

الاٌّرْض

بَيْنَ

كُرْسِيُّهُ

هُوَ

الْعَلِىُّ

الْعَظِيمُ

This helped him understand the translation of the verse. Also helped him identify more arabic words particularly the words which are repetitive in the Quran.

Z also wanted to be a part of this activity. I pointed to him the word Allah in the verse and later asked him to point out the word Allah. He was very happy. I also pointed to him the letters that he know (which are not in its connected form in the verse) like dzal, alif and rho. He sure felt accomplished!

By discussing this ayah, i get to zoom in their mistakes in memorising this verse. And I corrected them. In fact I had it printed out and highlighted their clearest mistake which were mainly the long mad and pronunciation of the letter “ain”. Now we have the printed verse on their wall and will be reviewed everyday before sleep until I am happy with their recital, Insya Allah.

This is one of the manners that can be easily taught as first of all everyone needs to eat. And thus since it is also a family activity, observation can be made whether they are living the lessons they learnt. There are some parts about eating manners which are hard to do sometimes. Particularly the eating too much. Especially when you are invited to people’s house. It is very difficult to not eat a lot in most malay’s household. Either the food is too good or they’d pester you to eat more.

May I walk the talk myself. Insya Allah.

My syllabus for this topic was mostly taken from TJ on adabs of eating. Masya Allah. She has made such resourceful site. Very useful for those who want to teach their children Islam like myself. May Allah bless her for her great work.

If you would like to read her notes on Etiquette & Manners : Eating, just click HERE.

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What do we say before we eat?

You say Bismillah

What would happen if we do not say Bismillah?

Then the shaytan will eat with you.

The prove is in Rasulullah’s s.a.w. hadeeth

The Book of Drinks (Kitab Al-Ashriba)

Muslim :: Book 23 : Hadith 5006

Jabir b. ‘Abdullah reported Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: When a person enters his house and mentions the name of Allah at the time of entering it and while eating the food, Satan says (addressing himself: You have no place to spend the night and no evening meal; but when he enters without mentioning the name of Allah, the Satan says: You have found a place to spend the night, and when he does not mention the name of Allah while eating food, he (the Satan) says: You have found a place to spend the night and evening meal. This hadith has been narrated on the authority of Jabir b. Abdullah through the same chain of transmitters but with a slight variation of wording.

We do not want to be feeding shaytan now do we?

Oh No! I forgot to recite Bismillah. What should I do now?

it’s ok you can recite this

بسم الله فى أوله وا~خره

Bismillahi Fee awwalihi wa akhirihi

Narrated by Ummayah Ibn Makhshi

Umayyah was sitting and a man was eating. he did not mention Allah’s name until there remained the last morsel. When he raised it to his mouth, he said : In the name of Allah at the beginning and at the end of it. The Prophet s.a.w. laughed and said: “The devil kept eating along with him, but when he mentioned Allah’s name, he vomited what was in his belly.”

Abu Dawud

What do you say when you have finished eating?

We say Alhamdullilah

Narrated by Abu Umama:

Whenever the Prophet finished his meals (or when his dining sheet was taken away), he used to say. “Praise be to Allah Who has satisfied our needs and quenched our thirst. Your favor cannot by compensated or denied.” Once he said, upraise be to You, O our Lord! Your favor cannot be compensated, nor can be left, nor can be dispensed with, O our Lord!”

I am putting these dua on the fridge so that we can easily refer to them when we need. It has been proven to be very useful especially when they forgot their Basmallah. 😀

Now, what should we do with the dishes after we finished eating?

– throw the rubbish on the plate

– put the idshes in the sink

– Haziq to wash the plates

– Sya to wipe and sweep the table and floor.

More Manners of eating : Some are not necessarily from sunnah but are still in accordance to good manners.

Eat what is closest to you

Narrated by ‘Umar bin Al Salama:

Who was the son of Um Salama, the wife of the Prophet:

Once I ate a meal with Allah’s Apostle and I was eating from all sides of the dish. So Allah’s Apostle said to me, “Eat of the dish what is nearer to you.”

Volume 7 : Book 65 : Hadith 289

This is one of the perhaps most difficult thing to do. Thus if we are the host, we should make the dish easily accessible on the table to everyone.

Eat with right hand

Salim, on the authority of his father, reported Allah’s messenger S.a.w. as saying : “None of you should eat with his left hand and drink with that (left hand) for the Shaytan eats with his left hand and drinks with that hand.” Muslim 5010

Activity for Zachary : To trace his right hand on a paper and labeled I eat with my right hand.

Which hand is my right hand?
It’s sometimes hard to know.
But I have a special way
That I will share and show.
Put both hands out in front of you.
Then it is easy to tell.
Cause when you straighten out your thumbs
The left hand makes an “L”

To lick your fingers

Sahih Muslim Book 023, Number 5041

Abdullah b Ka’b reported that his father Ka’b narrated to him that Allah’s Messenger s.a.w. used to eat with three fingers and when he had finished (eating), he licked them

It was a habit of Rasullullah S.A.W. to eat only with three fingers. Although there are in narrations that he eats with five too. The benefit is so that one will not eat too much.

The Book of Drinks
Muslim :: Book 23 : Hadith 5043

Jabir reported that Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) commanded the licking of fingers and the dish, saying: You do not know in what portion the blessing lies.”

And this is the wisdom of licking the fingers after eating. Because we do not know where the barakah in our food lies.

Book of Drinks
Muslim :: Book 23 : Hadith 5040

Ibn Ka’b b. Malik reported on the authority of his father that the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) used to eat (food) with three fingers and he licked his hand before wiping it (with towel).

Sometimes we do eat with utensils. Take care that we do not eat with our left hand for eating with for and knife, often requires us to cut with right hand, and to eat with the left.

Chew with your mouth closed.

Why? Discuss.

– polite

– its quite gross otherwise

Chew your food well.

Why? Discuss.

– you might choke

– help you digest better

Don’t stuff your mouth.

Why? Discuss.

– gluttony

– you’d tend to eat too much

– it is again quite gross

Rinse your mouth after drinking milk

Narrated by Ibn ‘Abbas:

Allah’s Apostle drank milk, rinsed his mouth and said, “It has fat.”

Sahih Bukhari : Volume 1 : Book 4 : Hadith 210 :

To take good care of our teeth, we should rinse our mouth every time we eat.

Do not overeat

Narrated by Ibn ‘Umar:

Allah’s Apostle said, “A believer eats in one intestine (is satisfied with a little food), and a kafir (unbeliever) or a hypocrite eats in seven intestines (eats too much).”

Bukhari : Volume 7 : Book 65 : Hadith 306

This is probably one of the hardest sunnah to follow among the sunnah of eating. especially now when we have so many invitations are good eateries. Too much delicious food! May I be able to follow through, Insya Allah.

Do not criticise food. If you don’t like it, leave it.

Narrated by Abu Huraira:

The Prophet never criticized any food (presented him), but he would eat it if he liked it; otherwise, he would leave it (without expressing his dislike).

Bukhari : Volume 4 : Book 56 : Hadith 764

This shall serve as a reminder for me not to criticise food that I don’t find pleasure in it.

If the iqama is called, and your food has been served, eat first before praying.

Narrated by ‘Aisha:

The Prophet said, “If supper is served, and Iqama is pronounced one should start with the supper.”

Bukhari : Volume 1 : Book 11 : Hadith 640

This however, my children, does not apply if you are only going to pray when the praying time is nearly over. This usually happen as for they come home (from school) hungry but yet they have not prayed Dzuhur.

Pick Back the food you drop, clean it and eat it.

The Book of Food

Muslim

Jabir r.a. reported that : I heard the Messenger of Allah s.a.w. saying :’Satan attend to all your affair, even your food. When some of teh food falls on the ground, one should remove the soiling from it and then eat it. He should not leave it to Shaytan. When you finish eating, lick your fingers, because no one knows (in which spot the plate) the (blessing of Allah) is.

As this is the topic for the class, we have been reminding each other about the manners of eating and drinking. Among them are reciting Basmallah, eating with right hand and licking the fingers.